In 2005, the North American Grouse Partnership secured a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant to develop grassland conservation plans for greater and lesser prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse-flagship species of prairie ecosystems and conservation planning. These grassland plans feature an ecosystem diversity approach to identify areas of the landscape on which to focus quality and quantity grassland habitat management efforts and to develop monitoring strategies to determine changes in prairie grouse populations. These plans also will benefit a host of other native species that depend on healthy grasslands. A composite draft management plan is nearing completion, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

Prairie grouse are charismatic species of the Great Plains. They require expansive and often complex habitat, thus making them excellent indicators of ecosystem integrity at landscape scale. Grassland habitat extent and quality have declined drastically from historic conditions on the Great Plains due to a variety of causes that include conversion to cropland, woody encroachment, energy development and urban sprawl, all of which potentially have significant impacts on species distribution and abundance.

Jon Haufler of the Ecosystem Management Research Institute (EMRI) is evaluating 38 Major Land and Resource Areas (MLRA) delineated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and based on geoclimatic conditions. For each MLRA, Haufler has classified historical ecosystem diversity. By comparing historical conditions with current land-use information, coupled with knowledge of species abundance, areas for implementation of conservation efforts are being targeted.

Also, the overall plan will regionalize grassland conservation goals according to Bird Conservation Regions (BCR) identified by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative.

This planning effort is being coordinated by Bill Vodehnal (Nebraska Game and Parks Commission) along with steering committee members Rick Baydack (University of Manitoba), Dawn Davis (New Mexico Department of Game and Fish), Jon Haufler (EMRI), Rob Manes (The Nature Conservancy-Kansas), Stephanie Manes (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Jim Mosher (North American Grouse Partnership), Steve Riley (Nebraska Game and Parks Commission) and Heather Whitlaw (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department).

The steering committee's goal is to have a draft Prairie Grouse Management Plan completed by the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in March 2007, with a final plan to be approved at the fall meeting of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. When implemented, the plan will guide essential coordination between states and provinces for projects that include research and landscape-level habitat restoration. For more information, contact Bill Vodehnal at 402-684-2921 or bill.vodehnal@ngpc.ne.gov